


The Litmus Test

by b0kunoanime (lonely_lovebird)



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Arthur!Harry, Established Relationship, Guinevere!Eggsy, Lets be real Merlin and Harry just like to fuck with the new recruits, M/M, New Kingsman Recruits, Not Beta Read, Not Britpicked, POV Outsider, Rich Poncy Boys, Tilde and Eggsy happened but now they're bros, Tilde likes being a drama queen, how many tropes can i put into a one-shot, schrödingers golden circle, tgc mentioned but not accurate to the film
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 20:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_lovebird/pseuds/b0kunoanime
Summary: “Drop your fucking weapon now!” the man with the gun trained on the boy was shouting.The boy spit blood and stretched his jaw as he watched Simon, frozen in place. “I don’t fink ‘e’s gonna listen, bruv,” the chav accent thick as it spilled from his bruised and swollen lips. “Leave the Princess out of this, an’ fight me like a man eh?” His sneer at his captor earned him another backhand across his cheek and Tilde screamed. Simon jumped at the action, watching as the man behind Tilde seemed to grow complacent.Simon weighed his options.OR:The one where Merlin has a new final test for his new recruits. (Because shooting a dog was never a good judge of character.)





	The Litmus Test

It was supposed to be a “milk run” -- Merlin’s words, not Simon’s. Merlin, the sarcastic and unflappable Scot who gave every recruit the stink eye like they’d tracked shit all over his best computers. Simon Wellington wasn’t any off the street knob, he was a Cambridge man from a well-to-do family, and it wasn’t his fault that there were three absolutely horrid plebes in the group of nine recruits.

Nine that had been whittled down to six, the three plebes still in the running despite their obvious disadvantage.

And Simon watched with vague confusion as his “milk run” assignment (“You’re one of the few recruits we trust not to cock it up,” Merlin had said with hushed tones. “She’s a very important VIP and she needs to speak with Arthur immediately. You’ll be equipped with Kingsman official gear and a tracker, so do your best - or you’ll be facing myself  _ and  _ Arthur’s wrath.”) crumbled around his ears.

The Swedish Embassy was dark except for the lights from the street streaming in through the tall windows. Princess Tilde was in a ripped pair of jeans and a white blouse that was stained with blood. Simon could see where it had come from the corner of her mouth most likely. Her hair was dishevelled, and she was being roughly held by one of the four men in black tactical gear and balaclavas.

The other two were holding the arms of a skinny kid who looked absolutely thrashed as they shouted at Simon to lower his weapon.

Simon was only supposed to be escorting Princess Tilde. The man… kid? Boy? Was a wrench that Simon hadn’t been expecting. The kid looked up with wide eyes. There was a white snapback on the floor behind him and his hair was mussed - the dishwater blonde locks clearly matted with sweat and dried blood. He was dressed in knockoff brand clothing -- brands that were considered rich to the middle-class but still far beneath the average purchase of the Wellington’s.

Simon glanced at Princess Tilde with confusion and her terrified face glanced between Simon and the other hostage.

“Drop your fucking weapon now!” the man with the gun trained on the boy was shouting.

The boy spit blood and stretched his jaw as he watched Simon, frozen in place. “I don’t fink ‘e’s gonna listen, bruv,” the chav accent thick as it spilled from his bruised and swollen lips. “Leave the Princess out of this, an’ fight me like a man eh?” His sneer at his captor earned him another backhand across his cheek and Tilde screamed. Simon jumped at the action, watching as the man behind Tilde seemed to grow complacent.

Simon weighed his options.

He couldn’t quite figure out where the chav figured into the scenario but with a second glance at his outfit, he placed the second hostage somewhere in the Smith Street rentboy category and figured he’d been in the Embassy as Princess Tilde’s  _ guest _ .

“I ain’t fuckin’ with you mate, drop the gun now or he dies.” The masked assailant was firm, no longer shouting, shoving the barrel of his gun firmly against the unknown hostage’s head. The boy grimaced, his lips sucked in tightly, and his nostrils flared.

“Seriously, who the fuck is he?” Simon gesticulated towards the hostage who immediately looked offended. “Why do I care? The way I see it, we’re both here for the Princess, and he’s just collateral damage.”

“The  _ fuck _ d’you mean --  _ collateral damage _ ?!” the rentboy practically shouted, straining against the arms that had him immobilized.

Tilde looked to be on the verge of tears, and her captor was steadily moving towards the main event and Simon counted that as a success. The plan solidified in his mind with ease as he looked at the assailants -- he wasn’t going to kill the boy, that would be ethically wrong. But he could let them kill the boy as the perfect self-made distraction to rescue the Princess and get her safely back to Arthur.

After all, he was just a plebe. It wasn’t like the world would notice another pretty face missing from the corner of Smith Street.

He moved with his trained reflexes and immobilized the assailant closest to Tilde with the darts from his Kingsman wristwatch -- and damn he couldn’t wait to own one officially, the man dropped like a stone in the Thames. He distantly heard the sound of the gun and the thud of the body hitting the floor and Tilde’s scream, but he had her over his shoulder and out the door before the other attackers even noticed their friend was down for the count.

Tilde screamed and wailed, her fists railing on his back as he loaded her into the Kingsman taxi that was idling on the streetside.

_ “You’ve killed him!” _ she shrieked, his fists pounding at the window on the door that was locked securely preventing her from escape or an accidental death. Her face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Honestly, the dramatics were frustrating, but that was a woman for you. Simon sighed to himself as she switched to Swedish and began to rant about the quality of his character.

He’d have her dropped off to Arthur in a little under thirty minutes and then he could wipe his hands of this disturbing night and get on with taking up one of the three vacant positions in Kingsman - Galahad, Gawaine, and Percival.

\------

“Ah! Veronica!”

The Scottish brogue sent an immediate alarm up Veronica Kent’s spine. She froze in the hallway, her skin tingling as she heard Merlin’s shoes tapping on the floor as he approached. She spun on her heel quickly and gave her brightest smile.

“Merlin, sir! What can I do for you?”

Merlin smiled back, his eyes going soft around the edges. “Veronica, you were Lancelot’s proposal, yes?”

Veronica felt like her stomach turned to lead. They weren’t supposed to talk about who had proposed them, but obviously Merlin knew. Her cousin, Roxanne Morton, had been thrilled to offer her the chance to join Kingsman after her stint in the RAF. Veronica had jumped on the chance with no hesitation.

“Yes, sir. What can I do for you, sir?”

Merlin smiled and it relaxed some of the tension in Veronica’s chest. He was almost a different person when he wasn’t sadistically trying to kill them all. She could still see the dark look on his face after they had washed out of the barracks and they had all turned to see the dead body of Alicia Gibbons floating half in the water and half on the sinks.

“Your test results have been phenomenal, Veronica, and I want you to know that Arthur has been pleased with your progress overall. Which is why he’s authorized me to send you on a solo test assignment. Well, I say test,” he rolled his shoulders. “All the field agents we have are currently engaged but there’s been need to have an escort for a person of interest to Kingsman.”

Veronica quirked an eyebrow. “Sir?”

“Princess Tilde of Sweden, I’m sure you’ve heard of her, correct?” The name was familiar and Veronica had the sense of a face she had seen once on the BBC News, back before the world had gone mad.

“Wasn’t she one of the royals to be taken hostage by Richmond Valentine, sir?”

Merlin smiled again and Veronica started to worry. “Correct again. She’s been a close friend to Kingsman since she was rescued on V-Day. She recently reached out to Arthur saying she has sensitive information for his eyes only.” Veronica felt the metaphorical lightbulb over her head flicker. “Your job is to escort her from the Embassy back to the shop in London to take the private underground out to HQ.”

“A real assignment?” Her heartbeat sped up and her palms began to sweat. “As a trainee? Sir?”

“A milk run,” Merlin corrected, his smile a little less fond and a lot more smirk. “You’ll leave at five o’clock sharp, outfitted with a few Kingsman items of your choice - for safety only - and you are to pick up Princess Tilde at the Embassy and bring her straight back to Arthur. Understood?”

Veronica’s pulse was practically pounding and she nodded firmly. “Yes sir.” She was not only going to meet royalty, but she was going to meet  _ Arthur _ \- the mysterious head of Kingsman that none of the recruits had ever laid eyes on.

Merlin nodded and dismissed her, continuing on his path down the long and empty hallway in the Kingsman UK HQ manor. Veronica watched him go feeling as if she were going to vibrate out of her skin. She wasn’t sure if she was excited or scared, but she checked her watch and panicked - she only had thirty minutes before she would be expected at the London shop to be outfitted.

With an undignified scream, Veronica turned on her heel and sprinted towards the underground tube that would take her back to the shop on Savile Row.

After carefully choosing her gear (a wristwatch, a signet ring, and an umbrella), Veronica was given the keys to an average looking Taxi cab that was parked outside of the shop. The man currently watching the shop, whose code name he gave as Elyan, smiled and waved her on.

The drive to the Embassy was slow with London traffic, but eventually she pulled up in front of a building that was modern yet classic, understated except for the flags flying above the sidewalk. Parking the taxi, she got out and walked towards the door.

The hinges were broken and Veronica immediately was on her guard. She pushed the mangled door open gently and it swung without so much as a squeak of resistance. She could hear voices, shouting, and the terrified screams of someone who had to have been the Princess.

“Let ‘er go!” a male voice was shouting, his accent thick and sounding like it belonged on the Estates rather than in the Swedish Embassy. “She ain’t done nuffin’ to you!”

There was the sound of a smack and a scream. “Shut your fuckin’ mouth or I’ll shut it for you. She knows where Nils Johanssen is! And if she won’t tell us, we’ll cut your tongue out instead!”

Veronica primed the umbrella and approached the threshold to the room where the voices were coming from. She peered around the corner and got a good look and gasped as she laid eyes on the Princess, blood trailing down from the corner of her mouth and pooling on the floor and dripping onto her white blouse, her jeans ripped at the knees (and from the design they clearly had not been bought that way). She was held roughly by one arm; the man with his hands on her was twice her size and dressed head to toe in black tactical gear and a balaclava. There were three other men dressed similarly in the room, two of them holding down a civilian in street clothes and the last pressing a gun to the man’s head.

“Fuck you,” the civilian spat, his eyes dark and thunderous. He looked worse than the princess, bruises across his cheekbones blooming and Veronica had no doubt they’d be black by the end of the night. “The fuck is Nils John-fuck-all-son anyway?”

Another hand landed against his face and the man twisted painfully with the blow, the arms holding him keeping him from hitting the floor - but it looked as if the force of the blow strained him against his own shoulders and Veronica winced on his behalf.

With delicate precision Veronica readied her umbrella and made her presence known.

“Let the man and the Princess go!” She ordered, stepping into the light of the dingy street lamps that were dusting the entire office in burnished gold. Everyone turned to her as she moved and the man with the gun moved to threaten her with it but Veronica had already made her second move. 

This was like chess, she mused as her stun setting fired on the umbrella - knocking the man holding the gun flat on his back. The two holding the civilian panicked and moved towards her but with ballet like ease she shot one with a stun dart from her wristwatch and primed her signet ring with one hand and stuck it right on the jugular of thug number three.

_ Chess, but timed, _ she grinned to herself - and Veronica was already three steps ahead. The bodies hit the floor with echoing thuds and the last thug looked at her with wide eyes before releasing the arm of the Princess as if he’d been burned.

“No, please, don’t I --” were the words he started to stammer before Veronica quickly shot him with an amnesia dart and he fell like a puppet cut from it’s strings.

She immediately went to the Princess, who admittedly was her top priority, but she kept an eye on the civilian who was getting to his feet and dusting himself off. He was dressed in knockoff brands that Veronica had seen authentic versions of on her awful classmates at private school. The trainers on his feet had wings on them, and she suppressed a smile. He picked up his fallen hat and pressed it gently onto the halo of blonde hair and he approached Veronica where she was trying to console the hyperventilating Princess.

“Your Highness, my name is Veronica Kent, I’m here to take you to see Arthur.” She barely glanced at her civilian guest. If she had to, she could give him an amnesia dart as well. But she decided against it, opting to take him with her to the debrief. He’d need protection from the men who had been trying to interrogate Tilde as well.

With a little help from the civilian, Veronica was able to get Tilde into the taxi, settled into the backseat with the man’s jacket around her shoulders. His black polo shirt had gold stripes on the collar and Veronica hid her smile.

“Thanks,” the civilian finally said from his position in the front seat with Veronica, after they were far enough away from the Embassy that the atmosphere had started to relax. The way he said his thanks the “TH” sound came out more like an “F” but it was endearing, if tell-tale of his upbringing.

“You’re welcome,” Veronica responded warmly. “What’s your name?” He didn’t look to be much older than Veronica herself, probably only three years older at most.

“Eggsy,” he said with a smile. “That is,  _ Gary. _ Gary Unwin. But my friends call me Eggsy.”

“It’s nice to meet you Eggsy. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m taking you to meet my boss now, he’ll be able to sort this out I’m sure.” Veronica was putting on her best poker face but she knew she was blowing smoke. She didn’t know much about Arthur except for the rumors that passed around the recruits, things they’d heard in the halls or from their proposers.

_ “I heard that he was shot in the head -- and he  _ came back to life _!”  _ Was the popular rumor that Veronica had paid no mind to. That rumor also had a backstory set on a shady sister agency to the Kingsman, some spy organization in America, which was too far-fetched even for most of the recruits, so the rumor was dismissed as hearsay.

She had also heard that the current Arthur had survived V-Day by killing an entire church of bigots single-handedly, and that one she thought was entirely possible.

“So you’re a...spy then?” Eggsy asked, breaking Veronica’s spiralling train of thoughts. She squirmed in her seat, glancing in her rearview mirror at Tilde who was watching her now with wide eyes.

“I… well that is to say,” she fumbled, glancing at Eggsy who smiled softly.

“Right, if you’re a proper spy you ain’t supposed to tell me. Got it.” He winked. “Our secret, yeah?”

Veronica smiled at Eggsy who turned his head towards the window with a smile, relaxing, his posture slumping in his seat, before he finally fell asleep. Veronica didn’t know what Merlin would do with the extra person she brought with her, but she wasn’t about to leave him there with the four apparently professional interrogators, most likely ex-military by their gear, and highly trained at that.

She’d worry about Merlin’s anger when she had to, but for now she enjoyed the soft sounds of water on the road and the engine around her and Tilde’s quiet sniffles in the backseat.

\------

All the recruits had been gathered to the waiting area in front of Arthur’s office and Veronica shifted uncomfortably. It had been nearly a week since her off-the-books mission to retrieve Princess Tilde. She hadn’t been able to meet Arthur after all, but Merlin had given her a warm smile before squeezing her shoulder and ushering both Princess Tilde  _ and _ Eggsy off towards Arthur’s office, Eggsy looking at the Kingsman HQ with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

But now here she was, awkwardly fidgeting with the elastic waist of her training uniform, watching the other trainees work off their nerves in other ways. Simon, the prick, was cool as a cucumber, lounging in one of the chairs like the Queen of Sheba, legs spread and a self satisfied smile on his face.

Simon was a wanker.

His best friend, another Cambridge twat, was seated to his left, his nerves slightly more apparent as his leg bounced like it was on a motor. His name was Edward Muir and he always looked like he’d walked out of a wind tunnel with the way his hair seemed flyaway no matter how much he tried to style it in the mornings. (And Veronica had watched with a sick sort of glee as he fought with his hair for nearly thirty minutes one morning before the rest of the trainees were even required to be out of bed.)

Then there were the three oddballs of their training group, the ones that Veronica liked best. Jamal was an absolute sweetheart, and a true gentleman if she had to say so herself. He occasionally would let a few crude remarks fly but he always apologized if she or the other two girls happened to overhear. Well, before Alicia…

There was Jamal’s friend, Nicolas “Call me Nicky” Davies. The two had become fast friends on day one, hardly leaving the other’s side except for training exercises. Nicky was a former gymnast and Veronica had seen the way Merlin had watched him during their hand-to-hand training, mumbling something about keeping the tradition of showoffs alive as Galahad. (She thought Nicky would make a great Galahad.)

And then there was the only other female candidate, Shareen Williams, with frizzy hair and nails that had seen better days. Shareen tended to bite her nails when she was nervous, a habit that Veronica had been forced to break when she was twelve by the most unfortunately vicious nanny.

She wished she knew what they were waiting for, the suspense of watching Nicky make another round on the edge of the room was driving her, as Jamal would say, “round the twist”.

“Ah! Good!” Everyone turned at the sound of Merlin coming up from the hallway. “You’re all here then. What are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on before I die of old age.” And without further ado, Merlin pushed open one of the double doors and made his way into Arthur’s office.

The recruits filed in behind him with trepidation. There were a series of gasps and Veronica wished she hadn’t parked herself furthest from the door. She soon realized what the gasps were for.

Arthur sat imposingly behind a large desk, looking to Veronica the very poster model of a Kingsman. His hair was perfectly done, his suit cut in a way that flattered his figure and also made him seem far more imposing than any one man should have the right to be. His left eye seemed perfectly normal, except for the lightning shaped crackles of scars that ran around his eye socket and eyebrow.

And he wasn’t alone either.

Princess Tilde, looking every inch the Royal that Veronica knew she was, was perched on a chaise lounge off to the side, where - and this was where Veronica couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her -  _ Eggsy _ was leaning casually to her side. But he wasn’t the Eggsy she remembered. He was dressed to the nines in a Kingsman suit, umbrella perched delicately on his arm, his legs crossed, and his arms crossed over his chest. He was eyeing the recruits with a calculating gaze.

Merlin, who had somehow managed to keep to the back as the recruits filed in, shut the door with an ominous click.

“Thank you all for joining me,” Arthur spoke, and while the room had been quite before, it soon settled into silence. “I believe you all recognize our guests.”

Veronica nearly did a double take.  _ All? We  _ all  _ recognize Tilde and Eggsy? _

And her stomach sank. Of course, it had seemed too easy at the time, but the adrenaline of the rescue had been pumping in her veins and she hadn’t bothered to re-evaluate the mission. It had been off-the-books, unofficial, so she hadn’t even been asked to write a report. She had thought it was suspicious but she didn’t have time to dwell on her feelings because curfew was in an hour and she had to return her gear and take care of her dog.

But now things were starting to make sense. Eggsy caught her looking at him and he winked.

“You have all had the pleasure of taking our final test, though you didn’t know it at the time,” Arthur continued, his eyes glancing towards Eggsy every so often. “Our final test used to be asking recruits to shoot their dogs -” Veronica’s heart leapt into her throat “- but upon further evaluation we discovered that wasn’t effective in proving anything but blind loyalty in an organization rather than a cause.”

Veronica glanced at Simon and Edward who were rapidly paling as they kept shooting furtive glances to Eggsy. Eggsy, who was watching Arthur like he’d hung the moon.

“After losing a substantial selection of our numbers to V-Day, not entirely due to the riots but to allegiance to Valentine himself, it was decided that Kingsman Agents would be required to prove their loyalty to the cause of upholding justice and the lives of civilians over their own - regardless of social standing.”

And - oh. Veronica could see it now. The men had held a gun to Eggsy’s head. Anyone who second guessed the value of an unplanned second hostage would have had to make a choice - the value of Royalty over the value of someone who looked and sounded like an Estates chav.

Veronica was suddenly inordinately pleased with herself knowing that had never been a question in her mind when she had laid eyes on Eggsy in his civilian clothes.

But Simon on the other hand was sweating bullets and Veronica didn’t have to guess twice as to why.

It was Merlin who spoke next, causing Veronica and Shareen to both jump and turn their heads quickly towards the sound. “And for those of you who aren’t understanding, we lost Kingsman Agents the same way the world lost nearly a third of it’s leaders - to the implants Valentine had given them that  _ I exploded _ .” His grin was wicked, dangerous, and dark enough that it sent shivers up Veronica’s spine.

It had never been released to the public how Valentine had been stopped, but she could see it now - Merlin behind a computer somewhere pressing the key that would undo Valentine and all of his co-conspirators with one blow.

“So congratulations,” Eggsy piped up, his accent lighter now, the undertones of it still peeking out from behind a more mellow BBC sound. “If you let me die, you’re officially cut from the program.” His eyes found Simon’s and he grinned, his smile cold and sharp.

Simon’s jaw practically hit the floor. And then his face grew red and he puffed up, glaring at Arthur and Eggsy who were now side by side, Eggsy having moved across the floor to stand next to the head of Kingsman.

“Who the fuck are you anyway? To be giving us dismissals like you’re in charge?” Simon’s face was red and Arthur’s eyes were cold as he watched Simon building up a head of steam. “And you honestly can’t be that surprised that anyone ‘let you die’ in your fake hostage scenario when you were dressed like some Smith Street rentboy --” 

There was a loud snap and Simon jumped as Arthur’s pen broke in half. Veronica kept her expression in check but she was feeling much like Jamal who openly gaped at the mess of ink that was suddenly spilling over Arthur’s hand. Eggsy startled and looked down with a panic.

“Arthur, honestly!” He yanked out his handkerchief and dabbed at the black ink that now covered Arthur’s right hand. Arthur looked down at it with disinterest before waving off the fussing Eggsy who simply rolled his eyes.

Jamal gave a low whistle and Nicky nodded, nudging Jamal’s shoulder. “Arthur’s well fit under that suit, ain’t he,” he mumbled and Jamal tilted his head.

“I’d watch your tongue,” Merlin chided Simon from behind them. “You’re talking about our most recent Agent Galahad, the man who  _ killed _ Richmond Valentine.”

Simon’s eyes were practically bulging out of his skull as he watched Eggsy still subtly trying to clean up the ink from Arthur’s desk, where Arthur watched Simon with cold and steely eyes. Arthur steepled his hands together and he took a deep breath. Eggsy managed to grab his right hand as he leaned back in his chair, wiping the ink off with a final huff before throwing his handkerchief in the rubbish bin on the side of Arthur’s desk.

“Simon Wellington and Edward Muir, you’re dismissed. You’ve been judged unfit to be Kingsman Agents.” Arthur’s word was law, and Veronica could feel it in the air as he spoke. Both Simon and Edward shrunk as the man’s piercing brown eyes watched them from behind the desk.

“And if you think about trying to take some form of half-baked revenge, I’ll fuckin’ kill ya,” Eggsy threw out with a wink - it was perhaps the most sinister and threatening wink Veronica had ever seen. And the chill at her core told her that Eggsy meant it.

“Right lads,” Merlin laid a hand on the shoulders of Simon and Edward who sputtered like engines in the cold, Simon red faced and outraged, and Edward pale and panicked, before leading them towards the door. “I’ll take care of these two, the rest are for you then Gala - oh sorry.  _ Eggsy _ .”

Merlin shut the door behind him with a click and silence descended on the office once more.

Eggsy clapped his hands together and rubbed them with glee. “Right, this is the best part of my job.” He moved around the desk and grinned at Tilde who was watching him with bright eyes. Tilde, who kept watching Veronica with the same expression.

“Congratulations are in order, I believe,” Eggsy said, looking at the four left. “You’ve passed the tests. Welcome to Kingsman.”

Nicky tentatively raised his hand. “But, sir, there are only three positions at the table? There are four of us.”

Eggsy’s eyebrows raised in a mocking parody of skepticism. “Are there, though?” He turned to Jamal who immediately seemed to deflate, his shoulders relaxing and his posture slinking into something casual and tired.

“Oh my god, can I stop pretending now?” Jamal asked, his accent thick and heavy the way Eggsy’s had been in the Embassy. “Thank Christ, I thought I was gonna have to listen to another round of Merlin’s lectures. Once was enough, thanks.”

“Everyone, let me re-introduce to you Jamal Magoro,” Eggsy was grinning. “Who currently works with Merlin in our technology department. Mainly with cars though.” Eggsy and Jamal embraced and slapped each other hard on the back before Jamal turned back to Nicky, Shareen, and Veronica.

“Remember Alicia from the first day?” Jamal asked, watching their faces. And how could they forget? Veronica felt a chill go down her spine. They had all let Alicia drown.

“Alicia and I were plants. She’s workin’ with the Statesmen in Kentucky in their medical research department.” And Veronica wasn’t sure what was better news - that she was a Kingsman, or that they hadn’t let an innocent girl drown on their watch after all. She could feel Eggsy and Arthur watching her.

“Congratulations Galahad, Gawaine, and Percival,” Arthur stood from behind the desk finally and he moved out and up to the group that had kept a cavernous distance from the Head of Kingsman - out of fear or reverence, Veronica wasn’t quite sure. “You’ll be Knighted formally Monday morning at the Round Table meeting. But until then,” he stuck his hand out towards Nicky who took it with a grin larger than any Veronica had ever seen on his face. “Percival,” Arthur said with a small smile.

“Arthur,” the new Percival responded, his voice heavy with emotion.

Arthur moved to Shareen who was frantically wiping at her eyes. He offered a hand that she took with enthusiasm. Arthur chuckled, the stoic facade long gone, and he clasped Shareen’s hand gently. “Gawaine.” Shareen beamed.

Arthur moved to stand in front of Veronica who’s heart was doing it’s best impression of a drum against her ribcage. “And last, but certainly not least, Veronica Kent,” he extended his hand which Veronica took, feeling the tell-tale sign of gun calluses that were artfully disguised under the smooth hands of a gentleman. “Our new Galahad.”

Shareen and Nicky were pounding her on the back now, Eggsy and Jamal smiling. Even Tilde had made her way to the group, watching with affection on her features.

Arthur still hadn’t let go of her hand. “I was also Galahad before I was crowned Arthur,” he said quietly with a smile. “I believe you will bring honor to it’s legacy, Veronica. You’ve done Roxy and Alistair proud.”

As Arthur moved to speak with Eggsy and Nicky and Shareen started babbling to each other about their success (Jamal edging in with a hug for Nicky who berated him for never telling him his secret - “I’ve never grassed anyone Jamal, you know me!” “Yes but Merlin would have had me out on my arse, bruv, I couldn’t risk it.”) Veronica paused.

“But wait, Eggsy!” At the sound of his name, Eggsy turned to Veronica with a smile.

“Yeah?”

“If you were the last Galahad, and Kingsman aren’t replaced unless they die, what’s your new code name?”

Everyone paused at that, except for Tilde who started to chuckle softly as she watched Eggsy’s face split into a grin, but unlike his dangerous and threatening smiles, this one was like looking at the sun - bright, radiant, and shining. “Oh that’s easy,” he turned to Arthur and reached out to toy with Arthur’s tie with nimble fingers. “I’ll be Agent Guinevere.” 

And before Veronica could even ask what he meant, he yanked on the £200 tie hard until Arthur was pulled roughly forward and their lips met with a crash. Tilde’s giggles turned into full on laughter as Jamal groaned and dramatically turned away from Arthur and Guinevere who seemed perfectly content to kiss until they ran out of air.

“This is usually when we all leave the office and pretend we don’t know what happens,” Tilde piped up, turning towards the door. “Guinevere has always been one for the dramatics.” She pushed her way out of the office with a “Call me Eggsy!” tossed casually over her shoulder before she swayed down the hall out of sight.

The newest Kingsman agents shuffled out after Tilde, Jamal shutting the door behind them quickly as the softest hint of a moan drifted from the couple in the center of the office. When the door was shut Jamal deflated.

“They always get like this after Eggsy’s been the chav bait,” he muttered darkly. “‘S why you’ll be Knighted on Monday. Arthur don’t take too kindly to watchin’ ‘is husband die.”

With a grin and an arm slung around Nicky and Veronica, Shareen tailing behind them with a smile, Jamal led the crew of Knights out of the manor for a celebratory lunch and a pint, and to trade all of the best juicy gossip about their new boss _ es.  _ Plural.

Veronica smiled as she dug into her fish’n’chips, laughing at Jamal’s stories with an ease she hadn’t experienced outside of her small group of outcast friends in school.

Agent Galahad.

_ Yes,  _ Veronica thought with a smile.  _ That will do quite nicely. _

_ (“Oh my god, bruv, it’s literally the worst. It’s all true. All of it. Even the cyborg rumor? Arthur’s eye is cybernetic! Got if off the Americans after they stopped Poppy Adams.” “No fuckin’ way.” “Right? And he did get shot in the head by Valentine. And he did take out like, an entire church congregation single handed.” “Oh my god.” “Any other weird Arthur rumors we need to know about?” “Talk shit about Eggsy and you’ll be out on your arse, if not dead. He totally schooled this gang from ‘round the Estates for callin’ Eggsy a rentboy.” “Shit.” “You said it.”) _

**Author's Note:**

> Tilde is a bro. The Golden Circle happened but also didn't happen, at least not like it did in the movie because I refuse. And I am a sucker for Guinevere Eggsy, because fuck gender norms, and also fuck yes married Hartwin. Also I had to have a Charlie character so that's where Simon came in.
> 
> Oh and Harry has issues with Eggsy being called a rentboy.
> 
> Come talk Hartwin with me on [tumblr](https://b0kunoanime.tumblr.com/)


End file.
